The Bendigo Bank Cats have snapped their losing streak in father son prospect Osca Riccardi’s debut match, knocking off Sandringham by two points.
Geelong made the most of their chances in a close contest, winning 14.6 (90) to 13.10 (88).
Riccardi gathered 12 disposals, three marks and kicked a goal in his first outing for the club.
He showed plenty of promise with precision kicking and good contested work to go with a ripping goal and early goal assist.
Osca said he was stoked to be able to play a game for Geelong after his father Peter Riccardi played 288 games in the hoops.
“It’s a dream come true, I’ve been dreaming of this since as long as I can remember and to put the hoops on today felt unreal and I bet he’s proud and mum’s proud,” he said.
“I hope I did enough to please everyone and do my part, so it was amazing, absolutely amazing.”
After kicking an impressive goal from 40 metres out on the run, Osca told Cats Media he just went for it.
“I just saw the goal and I had the ball in hand so I thought alright, I’ll pull the trigger,” he said.
“I thought I might as well go for it, why not?”
“All the boys got around it real well so it was a great experience.”
Quinton Narkle’s (one goal, 29 disposals, three tackles) effort across the ground was elite while James Willis (one goal, 18 disposals, three clearances) showed fans a glimpse of his potential by taking strong contested marks and weaving in and out of traffic with the footy.
VFL-listed gun Daniel Capiron (eight disposals, three marks, three tackles) had plenty of outstanding individual efforts throughout the game, standing up as one of the side’s most experienced VFL players.
Lachie Bond (four goals, 11 disposals, five marks) also provided plenty of scoring opportunities as the side missed key forward Shannon Neale.
Geelong’s next match will be against Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill, 13 August at 2:05pm.
VFL Round 20
GEELONG 5.1 9.4 12.5 14.6 (90)
SANDRINGHAM 6.2 9.3 11.8 13.10 (88)
GOALS: Bond 4, Tsapatolis 2, Higgins, Narkle, Willis, Evans, Simpson, McLachlan, Zdybel, Riccardi
BEST: Narkle, Ratugolea, Knevitt, Higgins, Willis, Bond
REPORTS: Nil
INJURIES: Ceglar (Concussion)
@ GMHBA Stadium
